The Victorian World
A Historical Exploration of Literature
Published on 1. December 2018
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-1-4408-6043-0 (ISBN)
Description
An indispensable resource for readers investigating Victorian literature and culture, this book offers a comprehensive summary of the historical, social, political, and cultural contexts of Victorian England.
The Victorian era was a time of great social, scientific, and cultural change. The literary works of that period reflect that change and help us to better understand the Victorian world. This book examines the historical, political, social, and cultural contexts of several important Victorian literary works: Jane Eyre,, by Charlotte Bronte; Wuthering Heights,, by Emily Bronte; A Tale of Two Cities,, by Charles Dickens; and several poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, including "The Cry of the Children," "The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point," "A Curse for a Nation," and Aurora Leigh..
The volume provides historical explanations, literary analyses, and cultural context for each literary work, including primary documents from the nineteenth century. Topics investigated include women's rights, workers' rights, education reforms, marriage laws, race relations, inheritance and heredity, and other issues concerning gender, race, and class in the nineteenth century. Readers will gain a greater understanding of these major literary works as well as their historical context.
The Victorian era was a time of great social, scientific, and cultural change. The literary works of that period reflect that change and help us to better understand the Victorian world. This book examines the historical, political, social, and cultural contexts of several important Victorian literary works: Jane Eyre,, by Charlotte Bronte; Wuthering Heights,, by Emily Bronte; A Tale of Two Cities,, by Charles Dickens; and several poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, including "The Cry of the Children," "The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point," "A Curse for a Nation," and Aurora Leigh..
The volume provides historical explanations, literary analyses, and cultural context for each literary work, including primary documents from the nineteenth century. Topics investigated include women's rights, workers' rights, education reforms, marriage laws, race relations, inheritance and heredity, and other issues concerning gender, race, and class in the nineteenth century. Readers will gain a greater understanding of these major literary works as well as their historical context.
Reviews / Votes
The book is no cursory, indulgent glimpse into Victorian literature. Rather, the author skillfully and methodically scaffolds the raison d'etre of the selected works with historical background, pertinent legal documents and primary sources...Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. * Choice * Academic and high school libraries will find this text quite useful for English literature classes studying the 19th century. Public libraries should also consider it for their patrons. * ARBA *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Primary & secondary/elementary & high school
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
564 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4408-6043-0 (9781440860430)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
12/2018
1st Edition
Greenwood Press
€62.49
Available for download
E-Book
12/2018
Greenwood Press
€62.49
Available for download
Person
Anne DeLong, PhD, is associate professor of English at Kutztown University.
Content
Series Foreword,
Acknowledgments,
Introduction and Background,
Chronology,
1 Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte, 1847),
Synopsis,
Historical Background,
About Charlotte Bronte,
Why We Read This Work,
Historical Explorations of Jane Eyre,
Documenting Jane Eyre,
Women's Work: Governess, Teacher, Companion,
Document: Sarah Lewis, "On the Social Position of Governesses" (1848),
Document: Elizabeth Rigby (Lady Eastlake), "Vanity Fair, Jane Eyre and the Governesses Benevolent Institution Report for 1847" (1848),
Document: Bessie Rayner Parkes, Essays on Women's Work (1866),
Education Reform: Boarding Schools and Ragged Schools,
Document: Charles Dickens, "On Ragged Schools" (1846),
Document: 1870 Education Act,
The Racialized Other: The West Indian Creole,
Document: Mary Seacole, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands (1857),
Document: James Anthony Froude, The English in the West Indies (1888),
Document: John Jacob Thomas, Froudacity: West Indian Fables by James Anthony Froude (1889),
Suggested Readings,
2 Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte, 1847),
Synopsis,
Historical Background,
About Emily Bronte,
Why We Read This Work,
Historical Explorations of Wuthering Heights,
Documenting Wuthering Heights,
'Til Death Do Us Part: Marriage, Property, and Inheritance Laws,
Document: Barbara Leigh-Smith Bodichon, A Brief Summary in Plain Language of the Most Important Laws Concerning Women, Together with a Few Observations Thereon (1854),
Document: 1857 Matrimonial Causes Act,
Document: 1870 Married Women's Property Act,
Document: 1882 Married Women's Property Act,
Skeletons in the Family Closet: Heredity and Insanity,
Document: Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Zoological Philosophy: Exposition with Regard to the Natural History of Animals (1809),
Document: "Report of the Metropolitan Commissioners on Lunacy to the Lord Chancellor" Westminster Review (1845),
Document: August Weismann, Essays upon Heredity and Kindred Biological Problems (1889),
Suggested Readings,
3 A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens, 1859),
Synopsis,
Historical Background,
About Charles Dickens,
Why We Read This Work,
Historical Explorations of A Tale of Two Cities,
Documenting A Tale of Two Cities,
The French Revolution: Blood in the Streets,
Document: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, On the Social Contract; Or, Principles of Political Rights (1762),
Document: Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790),
Document: Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History (1837),
The Discontented: Social Class and Urban Poverty,
Document: Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor (1851),
Document: Annie Besant, "Why I Am a Socialist" (1886),
Suggested Readings,
4 Victorian Poetry and Social Justice (Elizabeth Barrett Browning),
Synopses,
"The Cry of the Children" (1843),
"The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Poaint" (1848),
"A Curse for a Nation" (1854),
Aurora Leigh (1856),
Historical Background,
About Elizabeth Barrett Browning,
Why We Read These Poems,
Historical Explorations of Victorian Poetry,
Documenting Victorian Poetry,
Child Labor and Workers' Rights,
Document: 1833 Parliamentary Debates Official Report, Volume 19,
Document: 1833 Labour of Children etc. in Factories Act,
Document: 1842 Mines and Collieries Act,
Slavery and Abolition,
Document: William Wilberforce, A Letter on the Abolition of the Slave Trade (1807),
Document: Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle (1839),
Women's Rights and Gender Equality,
Document: Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792),
Document: Sarah Stickney Ellis, The Women of England (1839),
Suggested Readings,
Index,
Acknowledgments,
Introduction and Background,
Chronology,
1 Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte, 1847),
Synopsis,
Historical Background,
About Charlotte Bronte,
Why We Read This Work,
Historical Explorations of Jane Eyre,
Documenting Jane Eyre,
Women's Work: Governess, Teacher, Companion,
Document: Sarah Lewis, "On the Social Position of Governesses" (1848),
Document: Elizabeth Rigby (Lady Eastlake), "Vanity Fair, Jane Eyre and the Governesses Benevolent Institution Report for 1847" (1848),
Document: Bessie Rayner Parkes, Essays on Women's Work (1866),
Education Reform: Boarding Schools and Ragged Schools,
Document: Charles Dickens, "On Ragged Schools" (1846),
Document: 1870 Education Act,
The Racialized Other: The West Indian Creole,
Document: Mary Seacole, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands (1857),
Document: James Anthony Froude, The English in the West Indies (1888),
Document: John Jacob Thomas, Froudacity: West Indian Fables by James Anthony Froude (1889),
Suggested Readings,
2 Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte, 1847),
Synopsis,
Historical Background,
About Emily Bronte,
Why We Read This Work,
Historical Explorations of Wuthering Heights,
Documenting Wuthering Heights,
'Til Death Do Us Part: Marriage, Property, and Inheritance Laws,
Document: Barbara Leigh-Smith Bodichon, A Brief Summary in Plain Language of the Most Important Laws Concerning Women, Together with a Few Observations Thereon (1854),
Document: 1857 Matrimonial Causes Act,
Document: 1870 Married Women's Property Act,
Document: 1882 Married Women's Property Act,
Skeletons in the Family Closet: Heredity and Insanity,
Document: Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Zoological Philosophy: Exposition with Regard to the Natural History of Animals (1809),
Document: "Report of the Metropolitan Commissioners on Lunacy to the Lord Chancellor" Westminster Review (1845),
Document: August Weismann, Essays upon Heredity and Kindred Biological Problems (1889),
Suggested Readings,
3 A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens, 1859),
Synopsis,
Historical Background,
About Charles Dickens,
Why We Read This Work,
Historical Explorations of A Tale of Two Cities,
Documenting A Tale of Two Cities,
The French Revolution: Blood in the Streets,
Document: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, On the Social Contract; Or, Principles of Political Rights (1762),
Document: Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790),
Document: Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History (1837),
The Discontented: Social Class and Urban Poverty,
Document: Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor (1851),
Document: Annie Besant, "Why I Am a Socialist" (1886),
Suggested Readings,
4 Victorian Poetry and Social Justice (Elizabeth Barrett Browning),
Synopses,
"The Cry of the Children" (1843),
"The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Poaint" (1848),
"A Curse for a Nation" (1854),
Aurora Leigh (1856),
Historical Background,
About Elizabeth Barrett Browning,
Why We Read These Poems,
Historical Explorations of Victorian Poetry,
Documenting Victorian Poetry,
Child Labor and Workers' Rights,
Document: 1833 Parliamentary Debates Official Report, Volume 19,
Document: 1833 Labour of Children etc. in Factories Act,
Document: 1842 Mines and Collieries Act,
Slavery and Abolition,
Document: William Wilberforce, A Letter on the Abolition of the Slave Trade (1807),
Document: Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle (1839),
Women's Rights and Gender Equality,
Document: Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792),
Document: Sarah Stickney Ellis, The Women of England (1839),
Suggested Readings,
Index,